A founder and leading representative of the Sixtiers poetry movement, Kostenko is celebrated as one of Ukraine’s foremost poets and credited with reviving Ukrainian-language lurid poetry.
Between 1957 and 1961, she published three volumes of poetry that garnered widespread acclaim. However, her refusal to give into ideological criticism and the demands of Soviet censorship led to a ban on her works until 1977. In 1965 and 1968, Kostenko became a vocal advocate for Ukrainian intellectual freedom, signing several open letters opposing the arrests and secret trials of Ukrainian intellectuals.

In the 1990s, Kostenko worked in the Chernobyl-affected region to preserve its cultural heritage, demonstrating her commitment to safeguarding Ukraine’s history and identity. In 2010, she published her first novel, ‘Notes of a Ukrainian Madman’, which examined the social and political upheavals in independent Ukraine, which immediately became a bestseller.

Kostenko’s achievements have been recognized with numerous honours, including an honorary professorship at Kyiv Mohyla Academy, honorary doctorates from Lviv and Chernivtsi Universities, the Shevchenko National Prize, and France’s Legion of Honour.